Untitled Romance
by Mily
Summary: BrooklynOC, When Brooklyn rescues a girl named Aimee from almost being raped it's love at first sight. But is a love such as theirs meant to last?


This will be my very first Gargoyles fanfic. It will mostly be based on Brooklyn and my original female character. It won't be chaptered because I have too much trouble getting chapters out. It will be a long read but hopefully you'll like that, and you won't have to wait for any chapters 

This will be sometime after season one, I know there are seasons 2 and 3 but they haven't released those on DVD yet…

Disclaimer: I don't own New Found Glory's song and I don't own Gargoyles, they belong to Disney, I only own my own characters in this story.

Untitled Romance

It was now that Goliath and his clan were finally adjusting to living in the clock tower above the police station where Elisa Maza worked. She still gave them frequent visits from time to time, but more complicated cases were tying her up for long nights.

It was becoming routine for Brooklyn to go out and patrol for an hour and then lay back and do whatever he wanted. He still longed for more out of life, even though Manhattan had its unexpected twists and turns, nothing had happened lately. He did have Lexington and Broadway to hang out with but he still felt lonely at times. Not tonight however, Goliath had finally given them the night off to see a concert at Times Square.

He had a feeling it wouldn't go as planned though, nothing ever does…

Aimee Stone walked silently up the lit streets of downtown Manhattan. Pausing she turned down to look at her digital watch, 9:32 pm it read in bright blue numbers after she pressed the indigo button. She wasn't late yet, she figured, curfew was 10:00 pm. Aimee would have preferred to stay out later, she was a night owl like her father was. As soon as he married Darlene her step-mother, this curfew had been infringed upon her. Like any other New Yorker she knew her way around this city as if she had lived there longer than 17 years. Even this however, couldn't prepare her for what happened next.

Three, shadowy wing creatures easily glided on the warm up-drafts of air they had come to expect every spring. They were headed to a late Green Day concert, which had most recently become their new favourite band.

"Are we there yet?" Lexington said slightly whining.

"No, we need to stop for a bite to eat first." Broadway said feeling his round belly complain and growl.

"You guys… we can eat when we get there." Though, truthfully he wasn't hungry at all. Brooklyn never needed to eat much to keep going in this day and age.

Lexington spotted Times Square and went into a dive. "There it is!"

Broadway followed as was Brooklyn until he heard something. He could have sworn it was a faint scream. "I'll catch up with you guys later, I gotta check something out!"

Aimee had been grabbed from behind as she was walking by a darkened alley. She kicked and fought her attacker but he easily out-weighed her in size and muscle.

"You, bastard! Let me go!" She couldn't see his face but struggled anyway. He pushed her up against a wall, she saw now; he had to have been at least four or five years older than she was. He had dark facial hair and wore a tan cowboy hat.

"I can't…" he said as he hungrily looked over her slender frame. "I must have you." He began to slip Aimee's sleeves down her shoulder of her low-cut V-neck t-shirt.

Panic began to flood through her. She's read news articles about unsuspecting girls getting raped in alleys and didn't want to become the next headline on tomorrow's newspaper. She could see it, 'Young 17 year old gets raped in alley.' "Please… just let me go…"

"No can do…" he said and pulled the other sleeve down.

'Help me…' she thought. 'Someone please help me!'

The next thing that happened was more of a blur to her. They guy holding her was suddenly kicked away from her. In the darkness she strained her eyes to see something beating him up until he quickly fled from the alley out into the street. She heard a couple of angry honks and the screeching of brakes.

"Thank you… oh god… thank you so much…" she said slowly walking over.

Brooklyn shrank away; he'd had one too many people he saved, get ten times more frightened then when they were actually in trouble. All because of what he looked like. "St-stay back! Unless… no, I have to go, sorry."

"Wait! You can at least let me thank you properly…" She had a feeling that saying this was a good thing. Even through, growing up she was taught to stay away from strangers and never trust them.

"Believe me… you're better off just forgetting you ever met me."

Aimee was getting annoyed now. "Wait." She said again. "Please…"

"Only… if you promise not to scream."

"I promise…" this was getting weirder by the moment, was he hideously disfigured…?

Brooklyn started with his foot and slowly moved the rest of his body into the light. He heard her gasp and looked away. "There… happy?"

Aimee's eyes widened in shock and amazement. What she thought was a human turned out to be something completely different. She knew it was rude to stare but it was hard not to. She examined him, from his brick-red skin to his flowing silver hair to his carefully sculpted muscles on his chest and arms. "I never thought I'd get saved by one of you."

"You know what I am?" now it was Brooklyn's turn to be surprised. He also took a look at her. Her hair consisted of honey-coloured curls which hung loosely around her shoulders. She had a fair complexion and wore fairly light clothes because of the warmer weather. When he looked upon her eyes they were hidden by a pair of light-coloured sunglasses, when she removed them he decided they were her most unique feature, one of them was green and the other blue.

"Well, there's stuff in the tabloids about gargoyles silently living among us and some news reports containing weird stuff happening about flying monsters. I thought it might be true…"

"Well, for once it's nice to save someone and not have them run away."

"I'll bet… I think I'd guess why…"

For a minute there, the two of them shared an awkward silence before Brooklyn suddenly remembered something.

"The concert! Oh, man I have no idea how late it is…"

Aimee checked her watch. "It's a quarter past 10… oh no! I'm past my curfew, she's gonna kill me!"

Brooklyn could actually feel that she was very afraid of this fact. "hey… it's all right, just tell her you got tied up." He thought for a moment. "You, have a curfew?" he asked in disbelief.

"It's not funny." She said sticking her tongue out at him. "I live like, five blocks away too…"

"I've got an idea… you afraid of heights?"

"No in fact… I enjoy being up high, why do you ask?"

"You'll see, grab a hold of my neck and we'll go to the top of the building. Don't worry; you'd never get too heavy."

She was still a little baffled, but did as she was told and tightly but not too tight so he would choke, and wrapped her arms around him. She gave a small yelp as he jumped onto the side of the building and used his sharp claws to climb right up to the top.

"Wow." she remarked. "Strong."

"You haven't seen nothing yet." He said, scooping her up in his arms.

Aimee gave a small yelp of surprise when she felt him jump off the building. At first shut her eyes tightly and felt a big wide smile creep across her face. The wind—much colder now, whistled through her hair as she slowly opened them. The city lights sparked below her as she had never seen them this high before.

"I thought you weren't afraid of heights!" Brooklyn said.

"I'm not! It's just, I've never been up this high like this before!"

He laughed, "now where was it you lived?"

"That apartment building, there!" She said pointing as the tall sky-scraper in question.

Brooklyn lightly touched down on the roof of the building, as Aimee slowly let go and jump onto solid ground again.

"Uh, thanks for the ride?" she offered laughing a bit. "I never knew flying could be so amazing."

"Eh, it's not that surprising to me anymore."

"Well, _I_ can't fly."

"We don't fly." He said giving her a small smile. "We glide." He perched on the edge, preparing to dive off again.

"Wait!" Aimee hesitated. "Can I see you again?"

"You want to see me again? Sure…" Brooklyn felt a happiness he hadn't felt for a long time. "Tomorrow night good for you?"

"Yeah, meet me here. Later." She said before entering the door to the apartment building.

Brooklyn leaped off the building and did a couple loops in the air. He had never felt so light and free as he did at that moment. Not wanting to miss the concert however, he headed off to join Lexington and Broadway who were probably getting worried.

Aimee, opened the door to the apartment as quietly as she could and tiptoed toward her room. Before she reached it, she was intercepted by a very, angry looking woman.

She took a deep breath. "Darlene… hi…"

**Slap** Before Aimee realized it; she was clutching her burning cheek and felt tears come to her eyes.

"Where, the HELL have you been! You know curfew is 10:00pm, do you EVEN pay attention to that watch we got you!"

"I just lost track of time! I was trying to get home, really!" she yelled back, wiping falling tears.

"You're grounded; you don't leave this apartment for the rest of the weekend."

Aimee suddenly remembered, saying she'd meet her new friend. "You can't do that! No!"

"I can and there is nothing you can do about it… go to bed…" She walked away leaving Aimee to stomp into her room and slam the door.

"You can keep me in here forever!" Aimee yelled through the closed door. "My dad has to come home eventually!"

* * *

It was 45 minutes into the concert when Brooklyn finally arrived. 

"Where were you…?" Lexington asked. "You've missed all the good songs."

"Yeah, it's gonna be ending soon." Broadway said, slightly swaying back and forth to the current song which was slower then most.

"It's all right. They'll be here tomorrow." Brooklyn was off in his own world, thinking about Aimee. His rookery brothers noticed this and shook their heads at each other. Both knew what they were going to ask him later.

Meanwhile, Aimee was devising ways to sneak out for tomorrow night. For some reason she couldn't stop thinking about her crimson saviour. It wasn't going to be easy… if Darlene ever found out; she knew it could end up worst than her just getting away with a slightly bruised cheek. She also never remembered asking what his name was and felt slightly foolish.

A few tears fell from her eyes as she remembered what life was like before Darlene; her father was her best friend. They had each other and that was all they needed to get along in this city. They did everything together, up until she started going to high school and everything changed. It could be compared to the fairy tale Cinderella when her father married the evil stepmother. Instead of him being dead, however he was off on an out-of-state business trip.

Brooklyn and the others arrived back to their lair with time to spare before sunrise. It was now interrogation time.

"All right, what did you do in that span of time you were missing?" Lexington said rather suspiciously.

"Yeah, you've been completely distant tonight." Broadway added.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I thought I heard something and that's it." The looks on their faces showed they were completely unconvinced. "Oh, C'mon you guys…we can drop this… you don't really wanna know anyway."

"Ah…" said Lexington looking mischievous. "So something DID happen…"

Brooklyn felt like smacking himself. "Fine, you really wanna know? I met someone." He said and felt slightly embarrassed.

"Were you careful about it? You know what happened to Goliath when Lex trusted the pack."

"Can we _please_ drop that already?" Clearly Lexington still felt slightly ashamed of ever doing that.

"I know… I almost made the biggest mistake ever by trusting Demona… I have a good feeling about her though, she wouldn't tell anyone."

Now the two of them looked even more interested. "She?" Lex asked. "So it's a girl then… What's her name?"

Brooklyn was about to answer when he did actually smack himself for forgetting something as crucial as this. "Aw, I forgot to ask her… tomorrow I will."

"Tomorrow? You're meeting her again? When do we get to?" Broadway asked.

"I dunno… just don't tell Goliath ok, guys? You know he'd _never_ approve…"

"Are you sure about that…? We don't normally keep stuff from him."

"Please, Lex? There's a good chance you'll get to meet her."

"Oh all right fine, just… I wouldn't do this too long if I were you."

At that moment the conversation would have to wait, for it was at that exact moment when the sun rose, freezing them all in their current positions until the next sunset.

* * *

It was nightfall again and Aimee was about to carry her plan out. She opened the window in her bedroom and bravely stepped out onto the ledge overlooking the sea of yellow lights from the cars down below. She gulped and started to shimmy to the left where a metal ladder stood rooted into the side of the building. If she could just make it a couple more steps.

A huge gust of wind blew up and made her wobble. Aimee scrambled to grab onto something and heard a small scream escape her lips. She couldn't do this; she was going to fall…

Brooklyn was nearing her building when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. No, it couldn't be… "No!" he cried and swooped down to catch her. With another flap he brought them up to the roof.

Aimee shuddered and didn't want to let go of Brooklyn for a while. "Thanks… I almost…" she shivered again.

"It's all right now…" he soothed. "It's ok."

Aimee jumped down blushing slightly. "Thanks for saving me—again." She said rather sheepishly.

"What were you doing? It's not that safe when you're traipsing about on a building ledge." Brooklyn asked, actually looking concerned as he said this.

Her face fell as she looked at her blue hi-top running shoes. "I kinda had to sneak out… Darlene grounded me…"

"Because you were past the curfew… I see now… well, these spring up-drafts can be unpredictable, next time I'll just come get you." he found his body temperature rise and was glad she'd be unable to see him blushing.

Aimee had a feeling he was doing it anyway and smiled. "I'll keep that in mind. Anyway… feel like having fun tonight?"

"I had something in mind… well, actually I have some friends who wanna meet you. C'mon, I'll take you to them."

It was much easier now for her to jump into his arms and allow him to glide off to wherever they were going. When they reached their destination Aimee recognized it as the old movie theatre. It only played black and white films now.

The two new creatures she saw were a shorter Gargoyle with light blue skin and a round belly. The other was more of a pea-green colour with his arms attached to his wings like a flying squirrel or a bat. She gave a small wave as they touched down on the roof.

"Um, hi! I'm Aimee, and I don't believe I know all of your names yet. Even yours…" she said facing Brooklyn who looked embarrassed.

"Well, I'd like to start the introductions then, I'm Lexington." The green one said. "This is Broadway and the shy one over there is Brooklyn."

"What?" Brooklyn asked snapping his attention towards Lex. "I am not!"

"Are so." Said Broadway. "Anyway, we seeing a movie or what?"

Aimee giggled. "It's so cool to meet all of you. Your names… how did you get them?"

"Well actually… we named ourselves, it's a long story." Brooklyn said now completely recovered from the teasing.

"Are there any more of you? Like… a leader maybe?" Aimee was completely enthralled now with them.

"We do have a few others and a leader, yes." Said Lexington.

"You'll probably meet them soon enough." Broadway said, now opening a door leading into the theatre.

Brooklyn shot him a look that said, you better have kept your mouth shut or else. He hoped Aimee didn't notice and was glad when he saw she was moving towards the open door.

The movie tonight was Gone with the Wind, it was a classic favourite of Aimee's and she squealed when she saw the opening credits.

"I love this movie!" she said in a loud whisper.

"Me too." said Broadway and munched on some popcorn.

"Haven't seen it yet." Lexington admitted.

Brooklyn chose to stay quiet; he never talked much during movies. He was glad however to see that Aimee was enjoying herself. It made him not even care what movie played as long as she liked it.

The ending was a tear-jerker and Aimee wiped away a few as the credits rolled. "It always makes me cry."

Broadway, unbeknownst to the three also cried a bit, he'd never fully admit it though.

"So now what? I guess you could take me home now…" Aimee said once they were back on the roof.

"Now?" Lex asked, they all looked a little surprised at her. "It's still a long way until morning."

"Don't you guys sleep?" she asked incredulously.

"Sure we do, during the daytime." Broadway answered.

"I guess we have a curfew too, we always have to be back before sunrise." Brooklyn said. "We have tons of time."

"Eh, it's a later curfew than mine. You're lucky."

Aimee thought for a moment. "Hey, do you guys like dancing?"

"Uh, yeah! During concerts mostly." Said Lex, remembering the Green Day concert.

"Well I kinda know this place, but I can't go because I'm not 21 yet."

"Why do you need to be 21?" asked Brooklyn.

"Well they sell alcohol there and I'm not old enough to drink it." she answered. "But I just wanna dance."

"Well, lead the way then." Said Brooklyn ready to carry her once again.

This time Aimee was a little hesitant. "You sure I'm not too heavy?"

"You're lighter than a feather, it's really no big deal." He answered smiling.

Aimee smiled as well. "Alright, let's go then!"

Techno music was blasting from the club when they landed on the roof. Nobody was up there and they were able to go in undetected in a balcony above the raving party down below.

At first each was a little shy but the pounding music was causing feet to tap and heads to bob. Pretty soon Aimee was twisting and turning to the music, Lexington joined in and Broadway started dancing along. Brooklyn watched her dance for a few moments and thought she looked beautiful and full of grace. Even though they had lived in this city for a year dancing was still a bit new to him. He really hoped he wouldn't look stupid.

Aimee noticed he was still and went over to him. "Why aren't you dancing?" She half-yelled over the music.

"I don't really know how!" he answered back.

"It's easy, come on!" she said and dragged him over to where Broadway and Lexington were still dancing. She started out by holding his hand until he got the beat and started moving to the music. "Of course you can dance!"

A little later on a slow song began to play giving everyone a chance to catch their breath. Aimee's heart was pounding as she sank down into a nearby chair. Brooklyn looked down below at the couples dancing closely and a thought struck him.

He approached Aimee and felt himself blush. "Would you like to dance? I mean… with me?" he said, extending his hand towards her.

Aimee looked a little surprised and then clasped his hand tightly. "Yes, I'd love to." She answered, allowing him to lead her out to the free space.

Brooklyn was a little unsure of what to do and where to put his hands. Aimee sensed this and placed one hand on her lower back and the other she held onto. Slowly at first she led in around in a circle until he took initiative and began to remember something he'd seen in a movie about dancing. He twirled her around and brought her into a dip. Aimee was slightly shocked as she stared deep into his eyes. She gave a small giggle and felt her stomach flip. Brooklyn also gave a nervous laugh as he raised her up again. Lexington and Broadway looked at each other and shook their heads smiling. He was smitten and they both knew it. When the song ended she retreated to the nearest chair and gave a huge yawn.

"You tired already?" Broadway asked.

Aimee nodded blinking sleepily. "Yeah, I just can't stay up all night; it's too bad you sleep during the day."

"I'll take you home then." Brooklyn offered. "I'll see you guys later." He said giving them both a wave.

"Thanks, bye you two, nice meeting you." She said and walked up the stairs with Brooklyn following.

When they were both out of sight Lexington turn towards Broadway. "He's fallen for her, hasn't he?"

"Head over heels." Broadway agreed. "Goliath should know about this."

"But we promised not to tell, we have to get Brooklyn to spill."

"That's easy, once you like something, it's impossible to keep it to yourself. Mm… like this new sandwich they have at the Sub place. It has a special sauce on it and bacon…"

"Ahem, so you're saying he'll let it slip?"

"Probably, we'll just have to wait and see."

* * *

While Aimee and Brooklyn were still gliding back she suddenly remembered something.

"Brooklyn? I can't go in through the front door; can you drop me off by my window?"

"No problem." He answered swooping down towards the building. He held onto her with one arm and used the other to grab onto the wall. Aimee held onto his free hand and opened her window. Her room appeared to be undisturbed in the amount of time they were gone.

"Thanks, I haven't had so much fun in a long time…" She blushed before what she was about to do next. "Same time tomorrow?" she said and kissed him on the side of his beak.

"I wouldn't miss it for anything." He answered. "Good night, Aimee."

"Good night… Brooklyn." She said before hopping in a shutting the window. Thankfully she was safe from Darlene's outbursts tonight as it turned out she never even knew she had gone.

Brooklyn returned to the clock tower and felt higher than the stars in the sky. Lexington, Broadway and Bronx stood there waiting for him. He was bursting to tell them what had happened and didn't even notice Goliath or Hudson standing there.

"You guys! She kissed me, well it wasn't a real kiss but…" He suddenly stopped hearing a deep chuckling. "Goliath's here, isn't he?"

They both nodded, laughing. "You owe me." Broadway said to Lex.

"Who gave you this… 'kiss' Brooklyn?" Goliath asked, looking very interested.

"It's just… she was… alright, I saved her, two nights ago. Some guy was hasslin' her in an alley. But she didn't scream and run away when she saw me… so I gave her a ride home…"

"Well… Is this girl trustworthy enough to uphold our concealment within this city?"

"Yes, I'm absolutely sure she won't tell anyone. Please can I keep seeing her?"

Goliath was silent a moment and Hudson had his own suggestion. "Let the lass come and meet us, I think we can judge for ourselves."

"Yes, that's an excellent idea." Goliath agreed. "Would she come?"

"Sure, she'd probably love to." He said looking as this like a challenge.

Just at this moment Detective Elisa Maza chose to make her appearance. "Hey guys, what's all the commotion?"

"Elisa, you're visiting late." Goliath commented.

"Yeah well, my shift just ended and I felt I had enough energy to come see you all."

"Well, we were just talking about Brooklyn's new girlfriend." Lexington said grinning.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Brooklyn cried, feeling himself turn ten shades redder. "She's a friend."

"Oh? Who would this be?" Elisa asked, her face lighting up.

"Her name is Aimee, you'll all meet her tomorrow so just... drop it already." He said, exiting the tower hoping for some solitude.

"It seems we may have another addition to the clan." Elisa said.

"So it would seem… I just hope we can trust her." Said Goliath, with a look of concern on his usual rock-hard expression.

"I guess we'll see tomorrow. Thankfully it's my night off so I'll try to get here early."

* * *

The next night, Aimee was startled by a tapping on her window. She was relieved when she saw Brooklyn waving at her.

"Come on in." she said, opening her window. "But be extremely quiet…"

"Would you like to come and meet my clan?" Brooklyn whispered.

"Yes, anything to get out of here." Aimee really had been trapped in there all day with her meals left outside the door. She craved the open air more than anything.

Brooklyn looked around the room, it seemed like she had been stuck in there all day, papers, clothes and dirty dishes were strewn everywhere.

"Yeah I know it's messy in here… it happens when you get grounded. Anyway, let's go." She was about to leave when she heard her name yelled in a high-pitched scratchy voice. "Quick! Hide!" she said to Brooklyn who jumped out the window and clung to the side of the wall.

"AIMEE! I can't find my remote! How am I supposed to watch Conan!" Darlene cried as she burst into the room.

"How would I know? I've been in here the entire day…" Aimee said quietly. "Plus you have like, five of them…"

Darlene glared at her and looked around the room noticing the open window in which the wind lightly blew ruffling her curtains. "It's a complete mess in here… clean it up!"

Aimee nodded looking a little nervous. "I'll do it right away."

Darlene scrutinized her expression. "Are you hiding something from me?"

"No." Aimee answered coolly trying to calm herself down.

"You are aren't you? Someone's here… aren't they?" she began poking around the room, throwing open the closet and looking in her adjoining bathroom. She came to the window causing Aimee to stiffen. What if she found out about Brooklyn? What would happen then?

Darlene looked all around the outside of the window and brought her head back in, she glared at Aimee. "This room better be clean before tomorrow morning…" She said before leaving the room and half-slamming the door.

Aimee brought a hand to her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god…"

A few seconds later Brooklyn hopped through the window again. "Wow… I can't believe you live with this… heh, she almost saw me too."

"Ok, we go _now_… she always falls asleep watching Conan…" Aimee said and quickly left. It felt so good to get away from there, almost like she was leaving all those problems behind.

They arrived at what she recognized as the Clock Tower above the police station. "I know this place, this is where you live?"

"Yeah, for now." He answered.

Aimee wasn't sure what that meant but she took a moment to look around. It looked lived in, with a couch on one corner in front of an older-looking television set. A stove was on another end which had something bubbling in a pot, a lot of it was free space waiting to be filled up with stuff.

"Nice digs…" she said in awe.

Goliath and the others chose to reveal themselves now, causing a bit of a surprise. Aimee gasped when she saw the 7 foot tall behemoth towering over her.

"H-hi… I'm Aimee, Aimee Stone." she said nervously and was amazed when his stony face broke into a smile.

"Welcome to our home, allow me to introduce the ones you haven't yet had a chance to meet." He said. "You have already met Lexington and Broadway, I am called Goliath. Over here we have Hudson and Bronx."

Aimee looked over at the older-looking Gargoyle and the dog-like thing that was with him. She absolutely loved dogs and tried to get him to come to her. "C-mere boy, c'mon…"

Bronx slowly walked over to her and growled slightly when she reached her hand out.

"It's ok." She said, leaving her hand for him to sniff.

The dog-gargoyle seemed to sense she was of no threat to him and allowed her to pet him.

"That's a good boy…"

"Wow," Brooklyn commented. "It took a while for him to let Elisa pet him."

"I've always been a dog person…" Aimee said and realized she was forgetting her manners. "Sorry, it's very nice to meet all of you."

"Don't forget me." A new female voice said.

A woman with long dark hair and tanned skin climbed up the stairs. She wore a red jacket with black pants and a white shirt. Aimee also noticed she had a gun strapped on the inside of the jacket.

"So, you must be the new person. I've heard good things, don't worry. I'm Detective Elisa Maza, nice to meet ya."

"Nice to meet you…" Aimee said and realized something. "I've heard of you! You're on TV sometimes."

"Yeah, sometimes for different reasons. How did you meet Brooklyn?" she asked curiously.

Aimee hated remembering what had happened before she had met him and hoped they wouldn't ask her. "I was in trouble… he rescued me."

"I see… I just kinda stumbled on these guys by accident."

"If you call sneaking around Xanatos' place an accident." Lexington said sporting a mischievous smirk.

"Ok, that wasn't but seeing you guys wasn't! Actually, the first one of these guys I met was Goliath." She said to Aimee. "He kinda saved me from becoming pavement pizza."

Aimee giggled, these well… people were all really nice. Probably the nicest she'd ever known, besides her father. Her thoughts drifted back to that apartment she now shared with that person who reminded her of Cruella DeVille. Was this how it was supposed to stay? No, she wouldn't allow it, never, not in a million years.

"So, Aimee was it? You're still in highschool right?" the detective asked, not yet finished with this 'interrogation'.

"Uh, what?" she asked being broken out of her train of though. "Yes, I am but this is my last year. I kinda skipped a grade back in elementary school."

Goliath stepped forward causing all noise to cease. "Miss Aimee, I'd like to talk to you privately, would you accompany me to the library?"

Aimee shrank away, still feeling a little uneasy towards their leader. "Ye-yeah, of course I will." She turned to look at Brooklyn who didn't seem to be worried at all. He motioned for her to follow and winked.

It was a short yet, silent walk to the library, Aimee marvelled at how strong Goliath looked to her. It seemed he'd be able to fight through armies and still keep coming back for more.

The moonlight shone in through the large glass windows of the library. A lone stool sat where she was sure he did his reading. She wondered if he spent most of his time down here. She certainly couldn't see Brooklyn doing that.

"Now." Goliath's deep resonating voice said, catching her attention. "You may understand that a lot of people don't know about us. We would like to keep it that way, for the most part. You must never tell anyone where our location is or that we exist. Can you do that?"

"Of course, like, no one would believe me anyway…"

"You have heard of the man they call Xanatos, correct?"

"Yeah… that really rich guy. Last I heard he had donated something and then it had become stolen again."

"There is nothing good about him and yet, he's the one who discovered us and brought us here. He must never find out where we are, and disrupt our lives."

"I understand, I won't tell a single soul."

"I believe you." He said looking into her eyes. "Now, Let us return. I do believe the young ones have something planned for tonight."

Indeed they did, Broadway had a whole meal prepared in celebration of Lexington's latest invention.

"It's a remote-controlled TV tray, it has three speeds and will transport anything." He said proudly.

Brooklyn smirked. "Now, you're sure you've worked all the kinks outta this thing?"

"Yeah… I ran some tests, it'll be fine." He grabbed one of Broadway's dishes and placed it on the surface. "Now, Aimee go stand way over there and it'll come straight to you."

"Ok… If you say so…" she said walking a few meters backwards.

Lexington flipped a few switches jerking the machine to life. "Ok, you just press this…" it began rolling towards its destination when it suddenly ran askew turning right around and heading towards the Elisa and the others.

"Watch out!" she cried as she jumped out of the way.

Golaith picked her up and with Hudson they quickly jumped out of harms way to observe the fiasco from a safe vantage point.

"Phew… thanks big guy." Elisa said.

He nodded. "Let's see how they resolve this."

The machine was completely out of control and whizzing around the room. The food it had carried now lay spilt on the floor and all over Brooklyn, Broadway and Bronx. Lexington was still trying to control it and Aimee was trying to avoid being chased by it.

"Can't one of you smash it?" she asked.

"I'm about to…" Brooklyn growled trying to get all the food off his body.

"No! I can salvage this! But not if it's in a million pieces." Lexington pleaded.

Suddenly it whizzed towards Aimee who gave a slight scream. Brooklyn jumped over and grabbed her out of the way before it smashed into the side of the wall. It was still intact yet pretty banged up, Lexington walked over to collect it and felt glares from everyone.

"Uh, sorry…" he said laughing nervously. "I seriously thought it would work this time."

Brooklyn was still a little mad. "Don't let it ever happen again! You almost hurt Aimee…"

"Sorry, I thought it was going to work! You can't blame me for trying!" Lexington snapped back.

"Well that was so stupid, now there's a huge mess!"

"Then clean it up!"

The two were getting closer to pouncing on each other in a full-out tussle when Aimee thought she should do something.

"You guys! Stop… it's fine… I'm fine, it's not…" she said in reference to the broken and now smoking invention. "—but well you can fix that. No more fighting though."

"Sorry…" They both said then smiled. "We weren't really that mad, brothers do stuff like this all the time." Lexington said.

"Oh…" Aimee suddenly felt a little stupid. "I see, sorry…"

"Don't apologize, hey you're probably pretty tired. Need a lift home now?" Brooklyn asked.

She nodded realizing she did feel pretty exhausted. "Yeah, that might be a good idea, I'm bushed…"

"Ok, see ya all later." Brooklyn said walking towards the door leading outside.

"Awesome meeting all of you! I hope to come back soon." Aimee said waving before turning and following Brooklyn who seemed to be becoming her crimson taxi.

After dropping her off safely in through her bedroom window he returned to the tower and found Goliath waiting for him.

"Um, yo?" he asked, looking at his face for an answer.

"Brooklyn, I trust your judgment on this girl. But I warn you, be careful of her parents and whoever else might be involved in her life." He said, crossing his arms and looking into the deep blue night sky.

"I understand… I'll be smart about this, and you're right she only lives with one parent though. It's troubled though; her stepmother really seems like an angry person."

"Oh? Where would her real parents be? What makes you say this?"

"Well, she hasn't talked about them at all… only the stepmother. She was very suspicious of Aimee, I had to hide."

"Be careful of her… we must sleep soon, go get your brothers."

Brooklyn nodded and went inside, thoughts of Aimee and what Goliath said swam around in his head. She had told him she had school during the week and visiting during the week would be more difficult. She told him to meet her on Friday and he could hardly wait.

* * *

Elisa Maza silently unlocked the door to her office and set to booting up her computer. Aimee had looked a little familiar to her and it was time to do some digging.

She clicked on many things before she found what she was looking for. It was a newspaper article from about three years ago. A grey and white picture of 14 year old Aimee and what seemed to be her father stood with grave expressions on their faces.

_Only three out of fifteen tenants survive after a devastating house fire reduced the highrise apartments of 5th and Main to nothing but rubble. The cause of this fire is unknown but police investigators are looking into faulty wires and maybe even the possibility of a bombing…_

Elisa stopped reading and looked down further.

_The third victim is lying in critical condition in Manhattan General. She was identified to be Diana Stone, wife to Joshua Stone and mother to their 13 year old daughter…_

Another news article was found with more pressing information it was in the obituaries.

_Diana Lynn Stone, the glamorous former wife of Joshua Stone, owner of Stone Condos died today at the age of 38. The time of death was 2:32am at Manhattan General. Many condolences are held for her widowed husband and her daughter…_

Elisa had later read that her father had remarried to someone called Darlene Saunders and had frequent business trips. Sometimes, these trips called him far across the states. The thing which caught her attention, however was the fact Ms. Saunders had once been employed by David Xanatos.

"This could be a problem…" Elisa said to herself. She decided to look for more info on Ms. Saunders and her connection with Xanatos. The information she was left with proved to be very suspicious.

* * *

It was Friday and Aimee was walking downtown a couple hours after getting out from school. She was no longer grounded as of Monday but her curfew still remained. She was walking by the police station when an idea struck her. She knew Brooklyn slept during the day but maybe she could wake him up. It was going to get dark soon anyway…

She walked up the steps and entered the station. She saw a door on the left which read 'Stairs' and entered. Thankfully no one had noticed her and she walked straight on up to the clock section of the building. It was eerily quiet but she expected as such figuring they were all asleep. It was a bit strange however when she didn't see any beds.

Aimee walked outside to the balcony and gasped. "Brooklyn!"

It was him alright, he appeared to be frozen in a quite frightening pose. Without even thinking she ran her hand over his face. It was solid stone… what was going on here? She noticed the others had also been turned into stone. Were they all dead? She wondered and then a thought struck her, maybe this is what they meant by 'sleeping'…

The sun was now setting and Aimee decided to see if she was right or not. She stepped back a bit and watched the orange-red orb slowly sink into the horizon. When the last bit of sunlight had left the statues they began to crack and almost all at once each gargoyle had broken free of their previous positions.

They all yawned and half-roared somewhat scaring Aimee, Brooklyn stretched his wings and twitched his ears when he sensed someone else was there.

"Aimee?" he asked hopefully.

"You're alive… well of course you are… you never told me you turned into stone when you slept!" she said a little irritatingly.

"Oh… I thought you already knew." He said feeling a little awkward. "What did you think had happened to us?"

She shook her head. "I didn't really know what to think."

The others were now approaching causing their conversation to cease. Aimee smiled happily and looked a little embarrassed.

"Hello…" she said. "I didn't really know that you all… y'know…" she stopped in mid-sentence hoping they'd catch on.

"Ah, yes. We enter a stone-sleep during the daylight hours." Goliath said.

"How did that happen? Was there ever a time you were awake during the day?" Aimee was curious now.

"I think there was a time like that, but it has long been this way for centuries." Hudson said.

"Guys! We don't wanna waste the night." Lexington said.

Broadway was already perched on the edge of the building. "Are we all hungry here? I smell something really good…"

"Coming?" Brooklyn asked Aimee who giggled.

"But, of course." She replied and practically jumped into his arms.

"See ya Goliath." Brooklyn said before the three jumped off and glided away.

Just minutes after they left Elisa Maza came running out onto the balcony out of breath.

"Where's… Aimee…?" she asked.

"She just left with Brooklyn and the others. Is something wrong?" Golaith asked, sensing she wasn't bringing any good news.

"I was doing some… digging…" she said finally catching her breath. "That girl's father is supposed to be the owner of one of Stone Condos, it's a ."

"It makes sense then that she lives in a large apartment like Brooklyn explained."

"Yeah… but she should be living in a very expensive penthouse. Her father's business is behind almost every condo in New York. That money must be going somewhere…"

"Maybe it is being stored in the bank but that does sound incorrect."

"It's just suspicious… and I don't want Brooklyn getting hurt."

Goliath folded his massive arms and thought for a second. "I think he needs to be talked to. When he gets back tonight I'll confront him."

"That might be a good idea; I'll see what I can talk to Aimee about."

"I think this should be done before it goes too far…"

Elisa nodded and looked out into the distant horizon. "I know… I know exactly what you mean."

Meanwhile, Brooklyn and the others had arrived again at the old movie theatre but Aimee had something else on her mind. After Lexington and Broadway had gone in she gently grabbed Brooklyn's arm.

"Hey…" she said. "I wanna show you something."

He looked a bit perplexed. "All right, where?"

"It's where I used to live…" she said looking out toward the sky. "Before my dad got remarried." She said turning back to look at Brooklyn.

"Let's go then." He said quietly.

It was at least a 15 minute glide and Brooklyn felt his wings begin to ache when they finally landed.

"We're here…?" He asked and stretched his wings before folding them around his body.

"Yeah… looks like nobody bought it… or fixed it up." She said almost whispering.

They were standing on the roof of what used to be a very nice condo, big spacious rooms which had once been glorious were now blackened and filled with rubble.

"I wonder what happened…" Brooklyn said feeling sorrow for what it had once been.

"Come this way." Aimee said opening a door which led inside.

It was a little unstable due to the state and age the building was in but they made it safely enough to Aimee's old apartment.

"This is it." she said opening the burnt door. It led into the living room which still had some furniture and even an old television set. Aimee started walking to the left into a separate room.

"Did this used to be…" Brooklyn asked wondering if he was right.

"Yeah… it was my room." She felt a great deal of pain just standing there.

Brooklyn looked around and saw something lying on the floor. Picking it up he noticed it was a picture frame with the picture somehow remaining intact. "Look at this." He said handing it to her.

Aimee took the item and felt tears come to her eyes. "It's… my parents…" she said giving a small sob.

Brooklyn was unsure of what to do but when he saw Aimee shrink to the floor he knelt down with her and pulled her into his arms. "It's ok…" he said and rubbed her shoulders.

Aimee cried a little harder. "I wish… I could just make things go back to the way they were." She said between sobs.

Brooklyn said nothing, he just held her closer until she was ready to talk again.

After a while she dried her eyes and pulled away a little. "I… never told anyone about this before… but when I was thirteen my life got torn apart. One day when me and my dad were driving home we saw fire trucks and the whole building was up in flames. A lot of people died… they got my mom out but… it was too late." She pulled a newspaper clipping out of her pocket; it was the same obituary that Elisa had found.

After reading it Brooklyn asked her. "I guess it was never the same after that… was it?"

She shook her head. "No, well actually it was ok for a while my dad and I got a lot closer. It was at least two years ago when he felt lonely enough to go looking for another wife. I always acted like it was all right but it's been so hard. Especially right now…"

"It's Darlene… isn't it? Things would probably be different if he hadn't married her."

Aimee hugged her knees and felt anger at the mention of her name. "I… hate her… and she hates me too, I always dread going home. I wish my dad would get back… he's been away for almost six months now."

"Where does he go?" Brooklyn had no idea why he was asking all of these questions, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Since he owns the condo company he has to go and approve designs for new ones and he has to observe the construction. A lot of them are being built right now but… he goes half across New York City but he's never been this long before. "

Brooklyn clasped her hand. "He'll be back, I'm sure he can't wait to see you again."

Aimee smiled and then dived in for another hug. "Thanks… my dad doesn't seem so far away anymore."

He hugged her back tightly. "Well, I don't think you needed me to tell you that." He said softly.

She pulled away again and looked at him. "It's still nice to hear…"

Brooklyn suddenly had this extreme urge to kiss her and hold her tightly. He had no idea if she even felt the same way; he leaned in and settled for a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"We better head back now, or else you'll be late for curfew…" he said standing up.

Aimee was completely confused by that show of affection she liked it but she wondered if there was something more behind it. She was surprised to have felt the kiss be soft and tender. She got up off the floor herself and tried not to look so freaked out.

"Yeah, you're right, let's get going." She said still having a million thoughts buzzing around in her head. One of the main thoughts being that even though he was a gargoyle he was also just like any guy and hard to understand.

It was silent on the way back, Brooklyn couldn't think of anything to say and Aimee was afraid she'd say something wrong. The silence was a bit uncomfortable but the air was warm and the view was as spectacular as always.

They had arrived back, this time on the top of the building. Aimee had a few minutes to spare.

"See you later I guess." She said.

Brooklyn so wanted to stop her and pour out every feeling he had stored up in there but he couldn't. "Yeah, see ya." He climbed onto the edge of the building.

Aimee almost walked through that door when she felt herself thinking what the heck was she doing? "Wait!" she said running over to him. "I didn't thank you properly…"

Before Brooklyn knew what she was about to do he was kissing her fully and passionately. He was slightly dazed when they pulled away.

"Goodbye…" Aimee said and left through the door.

Brooklyn was still stunned by what happened. "Uh… bye…" he then felt an amazing feeling and knew that it was love. He glided back to the clock tower bursting to tell anyone, even Goliath about what just happened. It wasn't going to be that easy though when the gargoyle in question and Elisa were waiting for him.

* * *

Aimee entered the apartment with a minute to spare; she saw the TV on and the back of a chair facing it. She figured Darlene had fallen asleep again while watching something on the comedy channel. Aimee heard the floor creak as she walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water. It was dark and she jumped as the lights were suddenly turned on and Darlene was standing in the entrance-way.

"So, you're back on time for once… I bet he made sure of that didn't he?" she asked as her mouth curled into a sneering smile.

Aimee almost dropped her glass. "What are you talking about?" she asked as nonchalantly as she could.

Darlene moved up and roughly grabbed the collar of Aimee's T-shirt. "You know_ exactly _what I'm talking about…" she snarled.

The poor girl hoped with all her heart she wasn't talking about Brooklyn. She continued to deny it all. "No I don't now, let me go!" she cried and struggled in her grasp.

The step-mother remained firm and her grip iron-clad. "Don't play dumb! I've known the second you met that creature! They're freaks, every single one of them!" She finally let go and shoved Aimee to the floor.

This angered Aimee, no one talked about them that way… "Don't EVER call them that! They've been... no, the ARE the nicest, most amazing people I have EVER met! You and I may be different but you are _nothing_ compared to them… you never will be." She said in a low voice.

Darlene raised her hand to slap her again but she noticed her gaze remained unafraid and defiant. She then remembered what she was supposed to do in the first place.

"I bet you wish you were just like they were, don't you?" she asked.

Aimee thought about that notion for a second. She could be like Brooklyn and have her entire physiology changed. Would she turn to stone during the day like him? There were so many things to think about and Aimee was unable to give her a straight answer.

"Uh well… I don't know… that's impossible anyway. There is no way I could ever possibly be… changed like that." Aimee said as the thought seemed so outrageous.

"It isn't impossible… if you would so desire it I can make it happen…" She said, her voice now becoming softer.

"Why would you do that for me…? You… you seem to hate me…" Aimee said carefully.

Darlene put on a fake expression that looked mildly surprised. "Hate you? Wherever would you get that idea? You're my step-daughter, we're friends."

Now Aimee knew _something _was going on. "Ok…"

"If you truly want to become like them, I can make it happen. However, this offer won't stand for much longer."

"I-I'll think about it." Aimee said, wanting desperately to return to her room.

"I see… come to me in five days. That should be enough time right?" Darlene then returned to the den and plopped herself down in front of the television.

Aimee rushed into her room and threw herself down on her bed. Her heart felt torn, when she thought about Brooklyn her spirits lifted and she felt as she could fly. She would also think about Darlene's offer and wonder if he'd like her more if she changed herself. She also wondered if she'd like herself more if she changed. What if she did do it and regretted it after, the change would obviously be permanent. There were so many what-ifs as she fell asleep that night.

Sometime a bit later, Darlene made a phone call. It concerned her conversation with Aimee.

**Ring ring**

—"Hello?" the voice of David Xanatos buzzed on the other end.

"I think I've got her." Darlene said quietly into the receiver. "She might consent to the procedure."

"You think? This isn't a matter of choice, even if she says no."

"I understand, I just wanted to see if she'd say yes or not."

She heard him chuckle. "Testing your powers of persuasion I see… how long did you give her?"

"Just 72 hours, have the tests been proved that it may be fatal?"

"My scientists have informed me of a 50 chance that it may be successful."

"Half and half eh? Sounds riveting… I'll call you when I have an answer."

"I'll be waiting…"

The phone call ended after that, Darlene hung up the phone without an ounce of guilt. She knew they had to hurry though; Aimee's father was due back within a week. How unfortunate that his daughter would turn up missing when he arrived.

Brooklyn's confrontation with Elisa and Goliath began rather shakily and ended in an unexpected way.

"You went and looked her up! What the hell would she have to hide?" Brooklyn asked, his voice becoming more angry

"I don't see why you're so mad about this. I'm a detective, it's what I do, I can't help it if the information I dig up turns sour." Elisa said defensively.

"Her step-mother could prove to be quite dangerous. She might still be working for Xanatos." Goliath said his expression becoming grave.

Brooklyn felt defeated. "So… what are you saying? I'm not allowed to see her anymore? I can't do that."

"Maybe you should hold off until I can make sure it's safe. What if she has spies? They could easily find out where you're hiding." She said, the last part being directed at both of them.

"I don't think you understand…" Brooklyn said taking a deep breath. "I love her…!" he blushed deeply after he realized what he just said and figured he might as well keep going, "no force in this universe could keep me from seeing her."

There was a moment of silence where Elisa and Goliath digested this confession of the heart.

Goliath was the first to speak. "Are you sure about these feelings you have developed?"

"I've never been more sure about anything in my entire life… If her step-mother is a problem, I'll ask her. She'd tell me if something was wrong."

"I'm still going to see what I can do about this, maybe it's a good idea you keep seeing her. It sounds like she doesn't know anything about her step-mother's previous occupation. You could protect her," Elisa winked.

Brooklyn blushed. "Thanks… I think."

Broadway and Lexington were now returning back they had wondered why Brooklyn and Aimee had completely flaked on the movie. Elisa was now leaving and waved goodbye.

"Tomorrow I'll pay another visit to Mr. Xanatos. I'll be back as soon as the sun sets."

Goliath went inside to see her off and Lexington and Broadway cornered Brooklyn for questioning.

"Hey guys…" Brooklyn said as he saw their displeased expressions.

"Way to totally leave without saying goodbye." Lexington said crossing his arms.

"It's was Aimee's idea… she wanted to show me her old apartment."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Broadway asked.

"I think she wanted me to go with her alone… I'm sorry I should have said something." He did feel bad but now he finally had someone to tell about how it ended.

"Aw, it's fine, but we want details… what happened?" he asked in a cheeky voice.

"We kissed…" Brooklyn said shyly.

"On the lips?" Broadway asked sounding almost amazed.

He nodded. "Oh yeah, I think it was my first one too."

The conversation progressed as such until the sun rose. Brooklyn tried to answer each question and was glad he had them to talk to. He could never imagine talking to Goliath about such things.

* * *

Saturday night brought disappointment to Aimee when she discovered her step-mother had forced her to go to her 'Spring Fling' high school dance.

"You'll regret it later." She had told her.

Aimee had a stylist come in and fix up her hair as well as a make-up artist. She longed to see Brooklyn and hated this stupid idea. She knew Brooklyn had no idea where her school was but she hoped he could see her. Maybe there was some way he could find her. Aimee decided to herself she didn't look half bad when her whole image had been put together.

Her hair was done up in bun which had her golden curls hanging down with many shining hairclips which had been stuck into her hair in various places. Her dress was a shimmering soft pink colour which squared off at the neck and curved down her waist before fanning out into a large wide skirt. She thought it looked like a bell as she twirled back and forth.

Darlene had her escorted to the dance by a chauffer. He would return when the dance was over nullifying any chance of a ride home from Brooklyn.

Her friends from school were there and crowded around, bubbling on about how great she looked. She reluctantly entered the school taking one last look at the sky before going in.

Brooklyn meanwhile was on his way to meet her. He landed on top of the building and felt his heart sink. He looked around hoping for some sign that she had even been there and noticed a small note attached to the door which led into the building. He snatched it up and opened it.

_Brooklyn…_

_Darlene made me go to my school dance, it's at Buffington Heights High School on North and West. Hope to see you there, I'll be waiting on the roof._

_Love you._

_Aimee_

Brooklyn closed the note and carefully tucked it into his loin cloth. He was about to go when he heard the door open. He scrambled to hide and jumped under the overhang and held on with his claws. He listened to hear when this person had left and was shocked to hear his name being called.

"Brooklyn? I know you're here, come out and let's talk."

The poor gargoyle had no idea what to do, should he come out? Should he try to get away from here? Very slowly he peeked up over the building and saw Darlene standing there. He climbed up over and stood there unsure of what to say.

Darlene wasn't wasting any time, she got straight to the point. "I know you've been seeing Aimee, and I have to say…"

Brooklyn braced himself for the worst but it never came.

"I'm thrilled, she's never been so happy, now I know I'm not the best role model for her but now she finally has a friend. Even if you are one of those vigilante creatures who graces our skies each night."

"Wha-what? You don't mind…?" Brooklyn couldn't believe what he was hearing and it sounded suspicious.

"Of course not… I've never seen her so happy, but I have to tell you something. She won't be able to see you on Wednesday, I've got to keep her here, because we have someone coming over to visit. I'm sure you'll understand…"

"Uh, of course! Have fun with that then." Brooklyn was feeling really uncomfortable and wanted to leave.

"Ok then, I guess we'll talk soon." She then left without another word leaving Brooklyn to sigh in relief.

Now it was off to the high school where Aimee waited on the roof of the school. It was slightly difficult to sneak up there but she had easily done it many times before. She scanned the night sky for any sign of Brooklyn and wished he'd hurry up.

Brooklyn saw her standing there and quietly landed behind her. He gently tapped her on the shoulder causing her to jump.

Aimee whirled around and smiled rather coyly at him. "Brooklyn…" she said in a mock warning tone. "Don't do that!"

The gargoyle looked quite taken aback. "Hey! Is that anyway to speak to someone bearing gifts?" He said pretending to look hurt.

"I'm sorry." She said trying to be serious now. "It's just so good to see you here, at my prom of all places." She moved in and hugged him. "Thanks for getting my note."

"It was kinda hard not to." He said and returned the hug. "I brought you this, I saw it in a movie that you're supposed to give your date one." He handed her a small plastic box with something flowery inside.

The little item inside made her gasp slightly. "You didn't… how did you get me a corsage?" she said in awe.

"I got Elisa to do it, she really picked a nice one I think."

"It's beautiful…" Aimee slipped it on her wrist and gazed at it. In the middle was a white rose surrounded by two smaller pink flowers. She felt her arms slip around his neck again. "Thank you so much…"

"'Welcome, really."

_I don't wanna know…_

_I don't wanna know…_

They both could hear slow music drifting up from the gymnasium. Without realizing it, their bodies started to move to the calming song.

"Dance with me?" he asked, this time much more easily.

"We already are." She said and laid her head against his chest.

_Your eyes were covered in sunglasses_

_When they first met mine_

_I sat there and stared at you_

_You didn't seem to mind_

_The awkward ways we meet_

Aimee wished the song would never end, it described the first time they met perfectly.

_First comes heavy breathing_

_Staring at the ceiling_

_What will happen next?_

_I don't wanna know_

_I don't wanna know_

_I never cared how I dressed before_

_But I cared that night_

_Anticipation ran through my bones_

_And my clothes never fit right_

_I can't wait til we meet again_

Aimee looked up into his eyes and noticed him looking back at hers, slowly she felt her eyes close and their lips becoming closer. They caught themselves in a passionate kiss somewhere in between the next chorus.

_First comes heavy breathing_

_Staring at the ceiling_

_What will happen next?_

_I don't wanna know_

_I don't wanna know_

_Framed pictures start to be put on the walls_

_Constant visits while I'm out on the road_

_It's hard to leave sometimes_

_But you know where I lay my head at night_

_First comes heavy breathing_

_Staring at the ceiling_

_What will happen next?_

_I don't wanna know_

Before the song had ended Brooklyn had whispered _I love you…_ in her ear causing her to shiver.

_I don't wanna know_

_I don't wanna know_

_First comes heavy breathing_

_Staring at the ceiling_

_What will happen next?_

_I don't wanna know_

_I don't wanna know_

When the song had ended Aimee had leaned up to say _I love you too…_ in his pointed elf-like ear.

_I don't wanna know…_

Brooklyn heard some voices coming and gently pulled away. "People are coming looking for you. "I'll see you later."

They shared one more long lingering kiss before he jumped off the side of the school building and flew away.

Seconds later a bunch of Aimee's friends came up, some with questioning looks on their faces.

"Oh, hey guys," she said nonchalantly.

"You missed the prom king and queen's dance…" one of them said. "What were you doing up here?"

"Just… thinking about things." She answered.

"Well come down, there's someone who wants to dance with you…"

Aimee allowed herself to be led back down into the fray, she knew well in her mind no dance could possibly top the one she had just experienced with someone she truly loved.

* * *

break 

By the time Brooklyn had arrived back to the Clock Tower, Elisa had just finished telling everyone about her visit with Xanatos. Perfect timing… he figured.

He was almost afraid to ask what went on during the visit because of his meeting with Aimee. What if he found something out that could ruin their entire relationship? He knew he shouldn't think like that but he couldn't help it.

"Well, hello. Nice of you to finally join us?" Elisa said when he had finally decided to enter.

"Yeah, sorry, I was just… thinking." He answered rather vaguely.

"Elisa has informed us of something I think you should know about." Goliath said, his expression being a little stonier than usual. "I think it's something that will be grave to hear."

"Xanatos didn't have a whole lot to say to me when I visited him." Elisa said. "I can't be sure if he was telling the truth or not, I asked him what he knew about Darlene and he said they used to work together in a lab about 8 years ago. She was studying to become a biologist and worked with animals a lot. Unfortunately they did a lot of animal testing, but in one occasion, Darlene got dismissed for doing and illegal test involving not only animal specimens but a human one…"

"No… what was she trying to do?" Brooklyn asked.

"It almost seemed like she was trying to completely alter his physiology… That's all I could find out. I think you should ask Aimee about this… or if she doesn't know, tell her."

"I will… I've never had a good feeling about Darlene…" Brooklyn said, heading for the door again. "I need some time to think about this…" He had left to find Broadway and Lexington, about to fly off somewhere. "Hey guys… sorry I haven't been around all that much, really. Wanna go somewhere now?"

The two of them looked at him blankly for a second and then both of their faces lit up.

Broadway nodded. "I wanna check out that new café."

"Yeah, come on, we can talk there." Said Lexington and jumped off the building.

Brooklyn followed, he missed spending time with these guys. Lately all they seemed to do was patrol and Brooklyn would spend his free time with Aimee.

By the time they were ready to leave the café Brooklyn had told them everything about his meeting with Darlene and what happened at the dance.

"Why didn't you tell Goliath that Darlene not only saw you but talked to you?" Lexington asked.

"You know he would have been furious… I think I can handle it on my own anyway."

"I hope you're sure about that…"

"Yeah," Broadway piped up. "Don't be afraid to ask for help."

"Thanks guys, I'll see you later."

* * *

The next night Brooklyn had picked Aimee up to see a movie, she'd found it hilarious that he actually didn't mind watching romantic comedies. They ended up watching one but they didn't pay much attention to it. They were more interested in each other more than anything.

By the time it had ended Brooklyn could barely remember what it had been about. They had ended it there because Aimee needed to get up for school the next morning.

"You know I'd stay longer if I could right?" she had asked him.

"Of course," he answered.

His smile made her feel like melting as she sank into one last hug. "Love you," she said and pulled away.

"I love you too, bye…" he said softly.

Aimee watched him leave and wondered why she was so lucky to have met someone like him. Darlene's proposal still sounded loud and clear in her head, she wished she'd never said anything, having something like this hanging over your head was almost unbearable.

Darlene never even noticed her come in and it was surprising because she had been over ten minutes late on her curfew. Aimee decided to just go to bed and think nothing of it. By the time she had finally gotten to that stage another one of insomnia had began. Aimee was up at 3am and for some inane reason she couldn't think of she went up to the apartment building roof to look at the stars.

Her long white nightgown billowed in the wind and she clutched her housecoat closer. Suddenly she heard someone cough and whipped right around to see who it was.

"Brook?" She asked.

"Sorry to disappoint you." she heard a deep rumbling voice answer as Goliath moved out of the shadows and into the moonlight.

"Oh… you didn't, uh what brings you around here?" she asked, trying not to feel intimidated by his presence.

"I like to seek my solitude where I can find it." he answered and turned her way to give a slight grin.

"Total havoc at your lair? No, lemme guess… Lex has invented something else?" she said and felt herself begin to smile.

"Yes, and yes." He was silent a couple moments. "May I ask the reason you're not sound asleep like the rest of the city?"

"I couldn't sleep… I was… worrying about something. But it doesn't matter, I think I have it all figured out."

Goliath didn't pry; he only stared off into the distance as she did. "Worrying only leads to more worrying." He finally said.

Aimee nodded and couldn't believe what she was about to ask. "D-d'you think Brooklyn likes me the way I am? I know I'm not one of your kind but would it matter to him?"

After hearing this Goliath turned around to face her. "Love…" he began, "is one of the strongest emotions a person can have, be he gargoyle or human. Do you love him?"

"More than anything, I've never felt this way about anyone in my entire life." She felt herself blushing.

"Then let no more worries be wasted on that thought. You do indeed have it all figured out."

Aimee realized he was right and felt that burden of worries lifted from her shoulders. "Thanks…" she said. "Thanks a lot; I gotta go to sleep now."

"Your welcome," he said and after she had left he added. "I'm truly glad Brooklyn has met you."

Aimee crawled into bed and fell asleep in an instant, she couldn't wait to see Brooklyn again and would go up to meet him after she had given Darlene her answer. She knew now that the answer was going to be a flat out **no, **and thought it was going to be left at that. Darlene had other things in mind whether her answer was yes or no, the outcome would be the same…

* * *

Wednesday night was clear and calm, perfect for gliding with plenty of warm updrafts to ride on. Aimee returned home from to school to give Darlene her answer. 

"Sorry to disappoint you, but the answer is no. I can't believe I needed this long to figure out that Brooklyn likes me just the way I am."

Darlene looked coldly at the girl. "I thought you might feel that way, which is why…" she snapped her fingers. "I made the decision for you."

Two burly men suddenly grabbed Aimee as Darlene prepared a syringe. "No! You can't do this! Let me go!" she struggled and kicked to no avail.

"It will all be over soon. " Darlene said before jabbing the needle into the side of her neck.

Aimee's vision began to blur as her eyes became heavier and her body limp. "No… Brooklyn…" she said before falling asleep.

Darlene ordered the men to take her to Xanatos' lab, she would go there later herself. She smiled to herself knowing that when the gargoyles finally realized what had happened it would be too late.

Brooklyn meanwhile was hanging around their lair acting bored. He was thinking of stopping by later when everyone had gone to bed at Aimee's. He was sure she wouldn't mind him dropping in.

Goliath noticed he was actually around for once and was actually curious enough to ask why.

"I can't help notice you're here and not with your beloved." He said.

Brooklyn blushed at that term. "Uh, yeah… she said someone was coming over. I might go later, though."

"I see… have you found anything else strange about the step-mother?"

"Uh… well…" Brooklyn was still hesitant to tell Goliath about their meeting. He did have a weird feeling that he should… even though it was against his better judgement. "She… kinda talked to me."

"What?" he sounded more concerned than angry.

"Yeah… she was being really nice and…"

"Wait, was she really the one who told you not to come today?"

"Yes… I'm sorry I lied I just—"

"We've no time to waste, Aimee might be in serious trouble." He said heading outside.

"What? Why?"

"She can not be trusted, at all. Didn't you sense that? Get the others, we're leaving."

Brooklyn did just that and soon everyone was headed for her apartment. The whole place was deserted but it looked like there had been some struggle beforehand.

"They were here… they must've taken Aimee!" Brooklyn rammed his fist into the side of the wall causing it to crack. "I feel so stupid!"

"Now is not the time to reminisce, we must find out where she has gone. I think I know just the person to ask…"

"No! This is my fault, I'll find her myself!" without another word he left.

"Brooklyn, wait!" Goliath yelled but it was no use.

The crimson gargoyle also had an idea of who to ask.

He headed up to the towering castle; Mr. Xanatos however, was not there. The one he found in his place was Mr. Owen Burnett who was not going to give up the information easily.

"Where is she?" Brooklyn asked after throwing open the door to the office.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said flatly. "Now excuse me."

Brooklyn lifted him up by the collar, his eyes flashing white in anger. "I think you do know what I'm talking about. I'm not going to ask again, where is she?"

Owen kicked forward sending Brooklyn flying against the wall. Bits of drywall fell while he gave his head a shake. He let out a few more moves but all were blocked be Brooklyn as he grabbed him again and shoved him onto the adjacent wall.

"Fine, but it won't do you any good. It's probably too late. You can find her in the basement of the building."

Brooklyn set him down rather roughly. "Next time don't give me a hard time." He said before leaving.

The others saw him enter the elevator while standing on top of the castle. "We go down?" Broadway said.

"There's a basement?" Lexington asked.

"Of course there is." Elisa's voice said causing them all to turn.

"Elisa," Goliath said, "what are you doing here?"

"You were all gone from your hideout so I figured you'd be here. Aimee's missing isn't she?"

"Yes, Brooklyn has already gone ahead."

"Well come on, I know where it is."

The six of them just barely managed to fit into the elevator, Broadway was sure Bronx would put them over the weight limit. Hudson asked why he didn't consider himself first and there were a few laughs. Brooklyn had taken an earlier one remained worried; he felt his stomach tied in knots. There was no telling what they'd find down there. He had no doubt in his mind however, he would stop it nothing until she was safe with him again.

With a jolt the elevator finally stopped and the doors opened to a long hallway lined with doors.

"Which one?" Brooklyn asked anxiously to himself then common sense told him it would be the far door.

Some scientists saw him walking down and let out startled gasps and fumbled for walkie talkies.

Some burly security guards tried to stop him but they were flung against the wall or down the hallway.

Brooklyn almost ripped the door off its hinges. "Aimee!" he called. He looked around the room and saw her. She was hooked up to some machine and was unconscious but alive. He started towards her but was intercepted by Darlene. The woman was wearing a white lab coat, she looked coldly at him.

"I thought I told you she couldn't see you tonight."

He was getting angrier by the moment, not only at her but at himself for trusting her. "Let her go… don't make me do something I'll regret."

"I don't think you have a say in the matter, we must perform this experiment."

"What are you planning to do with her?"

"Aimee has a rare blood type; it contains fragments of gargoyle DNA. If we can awaken them in her she'd transform into one. Her ancestors are from the same place you all came from, there must have been a union of gargoyle and human." She explained, smiling at how their faces became more and more astonished.

"She didn't ask for this though! How can you do this without her consent!" Brooklyn almost roared.

The noise had woken Aimee up; she opened her eyes to blurry figures standing in the room. She felt very disoriented and was frightened at the fact she couldn't move her arms or legs. She tried talking and was relieved that her voice worked and the site of Brooklyn. "H-hey! Brook!"

"Aimee!" he tried to move past Darlene to get to her but she stepped in his way again and held a syringe.

"Don't take another step; if I can't do this I'll kill her…"

The look in her eyes told him she was seriously going to do this. There was nothing else he could think of… until, the sound of a gunshot was heard and the syringe was completely destroyed.

Brooklyn looked behind himself to see Goliath, Elisa and the others. Elisa still had her gun pointed to where she had just shot it.

"You guys… I was handling it, you didn't have to—"he stopped in mid-sentence figuring it wouldn't do any good.

"Yes we can see you were handling the situation…" Goliath said, a bit of sarcasm in his voice.

Darlene was not amused, quick as a flash she was up and flipped a switch on the wall, an electric cage fell entrapping all of them. "You thought you had won there, didn't you? Now you'll just have to watch while I perform the experiment myself."

Aimee grew more and more afraid, she struggled in her upright bed but it was no use. "Why are you doing this!" she cried. "Brooklyn loves me just the way I am! You don't have the right!"

"You descended from gargoyles, if this is successful we'll be able to find others and restore the clan to what it once was. Don't you want that?"

"You're also a descendant, aren't you?" Brooklyn asked. "But you don't have the guts to perform the experiment on yourself. You're not a true scientist… you're just a coward!" he punched the bars, barely even feeling the electricity that caused him to recoil a bit.

"Nobody calls me a coward! You insolent creature! Well, I thought you'd like to know that there's only a 50 chance that she'll live or die. I couldn't do the experiment on myself with those chances, I needed a test subject first." She then began frantically pushing buttons on a control panel.

While she was doing this Aimee looked over at Brooklyn with tears in her eyes. "If I don't make it out of here alive, I need you to tell my dad… I love him… I'll also never forget you, I loved you the first moment I saw you."

Brooklyn felt himself shed a few tears; it was not going to end like this. Just before Darlene activated the start sequence he grabbed onto those bars. He could feel the adrenaline pumping as his eyes glowed white. He could barely feel the sting of electricity as it coursed through his body. Little by little the bars pulled apart just enough for him to squeeze through.

Darlene had almost pressed the last button when he flung her away from the panel. The impact she hit the wall at caused her to fall unconscious.

Brooklyn smashed the power box connected to the cage allowing everyone to be freed. He then carefully ripped off the bonds which held Aimee and she fell into his strong arms. He hugged her tightly feeling himself cry a little more.

"You can tell him yourself…" he whispered.

"Thank you…"

The horrible ordeal had ended and Darlene was once again apprehended for performing illegal experiments. Xanatos of course denied ever being in league with her and there wasn't enough evidence to prove he was.

Aimee and Brooklyn continued their relationship with no qualms. She had taken to staying in the clock tower until her father returned.

That fateful day had arrived in the hot summer month of August. Elisa came bearing the good news and Aimee was ecstatic. Brooklyn had mixed feelings on this, something inside him told him this was going to be not only good but bad somehow.

His worst fears were confirmed when Aimee came as he awoke with tears in her eyes. She curled into his arms and laid her head on his chest.

"My father says I have to come with him on the next business trip he takes. He doesn't think it's safe here… but I wanna stay with you!" she cried harder.

"Does your father know about us? I mean, me and you?"

"No… he would never approve… I don't know what he'd do. I won't be gone forever though…"

"I'll always be with you no matter where you go… I'll wait as long as it takes." He felt a lump forming in his throat.

"I love you… I'll never forget you."

"I love you too, with all my heart and all my being."

They shared another passionate kiss and many others before she had to leave. Brooklyn's heart ached to see her go but the promise of her return would keep him going. A few times he wished he never felt love because it was so painful to see her go and to think about her afterwards. He realized later, it was better to love then to have never loved at all. He knew she felt the same way; no amount of distance would tear them apart.

One day, his love would return… he knew this was true… he'd wait a lifetime…

The End

A/N Wow… the end is cheesy… sorry about that. The rest of it was good though, in my view. So… how long did it take you to read? Tell me in a review please. Oh and I know the song I used didn't exist in the 90s lol, I just really liked it.


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